serious ? what does it really mean to retire in sports

PSACollector

serious question.

what does it really mean to retire in sports?

big hurt and glavine tired today.

do you file formal paperwork?

is retirement just a simple NON-BINDING announcement?

are they forever BARRED from playing in the mlb

can they un-retire?

is bonds "officially" retired?

how about sosa?

VintageCardLover

they can unretire anytime they want. Heck Jim Palmer unretired after he was in the hall of fame right?

K

<No comment needed>

TomGshotput

According to baseball benefits plan "normal retirement" is age 65, though they can take early retirement as early as 45

But that is the social security definition of drawing benefits with no regard to employment

Like most things in life, sports or not, everyone is allowed to define it how they see fit

Consider the Olympics. So many who go to more than one or two will convince both themselves and the world they are retired. Then sometime in that four year break, they'll decide to take another shot, sometimes successfully, sometimes not

PROMETHIUS88

I'm guessing those retirement rules didn't apply to Minnie Minoso, or does that only apply to playing in the majors?

DeutscherGeist

If Glavine or Thomas ever want to play again, they can despite the announcement.

I think it was Larry Holmes who retired several times in his storied career. In the case of Glavine and Thomas, I think they have nothing else to prove and I really doubt they will want to make a serious comeback anywhere in the future. Glavine already has 300 wins--you cannot get more automatic HOF than that. Maybe Thomas can break Bonds' record, but he does not need that to get voted in the HOF.

I think Glavine can still be effective with the proper rehab since he was always a finesse pitcher. Thomas, when healthy, can be extremely effective despite his dip in batting average (his on base percentage remains stellar though, and is more valuable).